Salt formation to improve drug solubility

Salt formation is the most common and effective method of increasing solubility and dissolution rates of acidic and basic drugs. In this article, physicochemical principles of salt solubility are presented, with special reference to the influence of pH–solubility profiles of acidic and basic drugs on salt formation and dissolution. Non-ideality of salt solubility due to self-association in solution is also discussed. Whether certain acidic or basic drugs would form salts and, if salts are formed, how easily they would dissociate back into their free acid or base forms depend on interrelationships of several factors, such as S0 (intrinsic solubility), pH, pKa, Ksp (solubility product) and pHmax (pH of maximum solubility). The interrelationships of these factors are elaborated and their influence on salt screening and the selection of optimal salt forms for development are discussed. Factors influencing salt dissolution under various pH conditions, and especially in reactive media and in presence of excess common ions, are discussed, with practical reference to the development of solid dosage forms.